Sunday, July 14, 2013

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Check out the presentation I created and presented the following conferences: NETA (Omaha, NE), The Summer Tech Institute(Norfolk, NE), and The Google Summit (Glenwood, IA)!

Smiles brighten the room like the sun bursting out of the clouds on a
rainy day as the senior citizens greet their middle school student and
begin to chat excitedly about vacation destinations.

"Where would you like to go today? " asks Addie B holding up the iPad and begins to record her partner.

"I've never been to Europe, I would like to go to France," Carole
Obrecht said with a twinkle in her eyes. "It has always been a dream of
mine."

After the interviews, they begin tapping together on their iPad,
soaring outside the classroom walls with the Maps app and Trip Advisor
to their dream destinations. Conversation and laughter fill the air as
the partners tap, swipe, and record their adventure with the camera and
Keynote apps.

Obrecht is one of 10 senior citizens enrolled in the seven week
intergenerational computer class, Tapping Together, offered by Bellevue
Public Schools and the Bellevue Community Center. The course met every
Thursday afternoon this spring from 2:00-3:00.

Not only is the class is unique because of the age of the learners, but
also because the 6th grade students are the teachers! The magic happens
as the iKids slide into the drivers seat and share their iPad expertise
with their senior citizen partner. These connected partners capture
the essence of teaching and learning. They are eager, engaged, and
joyful and the room buzzes with activity. Students have a two day per
week commitment. They are learners on Mondays, and then become teachers
on Thursdays.

This spring, the course centered around the theme, Oh the Places You'll
Go by Dr. Seuss. Go has several meanings for these learners. Over the
seven weeks, the partners plan and go on a virtual vacation as they go
new places on the iPad by utilizing a number of apps that come standard
with the iPad and several paid apps too. They also go on a journey in
friendship. These relationships develop into friendships that often go
beyond the end of class.

The course concludes with a Celebration of Learning when the partners
share their adventure. The course will offered again in the 2013-2014
school year. There will be one course in the fall and spring and
senior citizens can register by contacting Robert Ingram at 402-827-1840. For more information, check out the course website at http://www.intergenclass.weebly.com.

I am passionate about people! Bottom line,
life is all about the relationships. When I was in the classroom, I loved
being with my students. It brought me great joy and happiness to be able
to create an environment that was supportive, friendly, and upbeat. It
fired me up every day that I can make someone’s life better because I went to
work.

I was passionate about helping them realize
that kindness, patience, and acceptance are the keys to working successfully
with others. I loved working with kids who needed a teacher the most; the
ones who struggle. I loved watching their confidence grow week by week
. It fired me up that by believing in them, they learn to believe in
themselves. It ignited a fire in me to craft the best possible lessons so
my students can have a learning experience that is incredible and left them
wanting to come back the next day. I loved instilling in them a
drive to own their learning and do the best job possible because they want to,
not because they have to. I loved helping them set their own learning
goals and then have them prove to me they are learning by showing me evidence
of how they reach those goals. I loved watching them reflect on
their learning and revise their work.

Now I am fired up about collaborating with my
colleagues so we can lead and inspire others. I know that listening and
sharing are key components in growing as an educator. We all have so much
to share and so much to learn. And, like driving, we can continually
learn more. Our craft can always be improved. Exceptional educators
are always learning, connecting, and growing. In that same cycle of
reflection, we learn and grow just like our students.

At ISTE13, The Blogger’s Café became a hub of
collaboration, reflection, meeting, sharing, and thinking for me. It was
incredible to connect with so many wonderful people, some people who were part
of my Twitter PLN, those who I knew from meeting face to face, and new friends
that I just met at the conference.

Sue Gorman (@sjgorman), Shannon Soger, and I
were reunited in the Blogger’s Café after being part of the Apple Academy back
in February in California. It was fantastic to see them again and catch
up! As we visited, Sue invited me to attend her session with @msmageria
the next day. That will be part of the next post! I also
reconnected with Jon Samuleson (@ipadsammy), who I had met at a Tweetup in
Atlanta!

Next up in the blogger café, the founders of
Kidblog.org (@kidblogdotorg). Dan Flies and Matt Hardy were a delight to
meet. We have several teachers blogging it up using Kidblog.org site, so
it was a treat to meet them face to face and share with them some stories from
Sharae Gelde’s (@sgeldes) and Laura Swanson’s (@lswanson79) ‘s classrooms back
at home in Nebraska. Sharae and Laura had classes that blogged regularly
this year since they had regular access via the iPads and they had people
around the world leaving comments for their students on their blogs. It
is nice to share with the founders of kidblog how the kidblog.org platform was
instrumental in motivating kids to write, read, share their stories, revise
their work, and leave comments for other kids.

As we were talking, who should walk over but
THE CYBRARYMAN! When my colleague, Brent Catlett (@catlett1) and I started
on our Twitter adventure over three years ago, we found ourselves at Jerry
Bloomgarten’s (@cybraryman1’s) web page. We were trying to figure out
what all the buzz was about hashtags. He was the expert that we sought
that steered us not only to hashtags, but to chats, people to follow, and
tremendous educational resources. He is so genuine and kind and full of
great advice. It was an honor to meet him and tell him how much we
appreciate all he is doing for all of us educators everywhere. He is our
go to person for all things Twitter.

As I turned around to leave, who should I
see, but Kevin Honeycutt (@kevenhoneycutt) seated on a couch in a crowd of
people. Kevin shared an inspirational message to all of us at the NETA
(@yourneta) conference in Nebraska last year. Sometimes people make a
difference in your life and they never know it. I enjoyed the chance to
tell him face to face how his message spoke to me, motivated me, and as a
result of his keynote, spurred me to start my own #365 project.

The bloggers café was also a special spot as
I met a lot of new people there too! It was fun to ask the question, “What
great things are you doing in your district, “ and see the pride well up as
educators answered the question and talked with such passion about ways they
are doing great things for kids. Our schools are lucky to have so many
educators who are so dedicated and willing to take time in the summer to attend
ISTE. It is invigorating to be surrounded by people who are all wanting
to learn, share, and grow and ultimately go back to our schools around the
world and make a difference in the classrooms.

Relationships are the glue that creates the
network of minds that share and learn together. Twitter is that network of
great minds sharing perspectives on so many topics. Just as I believe in
my students, my PLN believes in me. It is from that sharing that causes
me to have new ideas, be validated, revise my work, and bring my staff and
students the very best ME every day to work. Relationships are the key
and the Blogger’s Café at #ISTE13 was the venue to foster relationships and
provide fuel for the 2013-2014 journey!